Sunday, December 27, 2009

Alex Klimovitsky and Sebastiano Ferranti are Youthless: a duo that is enthralling some melomaniacs around Portugal and other countries. Their music is difficult to label, however I'd insert them into an indie rock category. The musical instruments they use are: bass, drums, a synth and vocals. Simple as this...This is the band's first EP and it was recorded on Rory Brattwell's (ex-Test Icicles member) studio in London. It's admirable that their songs on this EP kind of followed an order, adding cohesion to the transactions between the tunes, creating a whole that characterises Youhtless' music. Their myspace can be found here.

The track list is the following:1. In the pacific2. The Beasts3. In Motion4. Out there5. I guess6. This must be the place7. Travel n Pieces

The intro of this EP starts with a psychedelic, mind warping, sound of waves, with vocals and synths blending along the track [the song's name is "In the Pacific").The second tune, "The Beasts" is more intense, reaching Youthless' distinct signature sounds: a nice bass, fast drums and soft, steady vocals.The third tune, my favourite, "In Motion" has an awesome bass line and tribalesque drums along the whole track, with Alex's vocals making part of this dance between drums, bass and synths.The forth song, "Out There" starts with a catchy synth line, accompanied by Sab's bass, for 30 seconds straight, until the Alex's vocals appear once again and the drums start to be hearable. Around 1:35 minutes the vocals and drums explode. Then, after a while, the bass and the drums maintain playing until the song ends. Quite nice track.The fifth song, "I Guess", is kind of an interlude.The sixth song, "This must be the place", starts with a synth then appears Alex's voice announcing "home is where I wanna be". This track has catchy lyrics, and, of course, as usual, Youthless' drums and bass euphorically blasting along the track.The seventh and final song, "Travel n Pieces", doesn't have any lyrics, but you can hear Alex screaming "hey!" along the track, inviting you to dance. The bass is awesome, sometimes can be mistaken by one of those intense wobble basses you hear on a DnB track or some similar genre. The drums, as usual, are at high tempos, being soften by the synths. At the end of the song, you can hear the bass playing the same sheets that it was heard at the second track, which is kind of funny, since it's like an epitaph to this first Youthless' EP.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Teengirl Fantasy's show was quite calm, proper to their music. Chilling, listening to their beats, while they were having fun creating melodies out of awkward loops, many people got along with it... Some just wanted Wavves to pop up on the stage and start playing though. But I liked it, I thought they were good and promising too.Below is a video of Teengirl Fantasy performing (recorded by João Almeida with my camera):

Wavves final gig of their european tour... how can I describe it? Marvelous, paradoxal, genius. Some hated the show, some loved it. I'm by the side of the ones who fell in love with that decaying spirit. Nathan yelled "boo" and then shouted with the whole crowd "satan! satan! satan!". Pure genius. Download this recording to see for yourself.I couldn't film this show, but a friend of mine used the my camara and recorded almost the whole thing. However, he didn't film many crowdsurfs (don't ask me why...), including when I crowdsurfed twice. There were people outside Galeria Zé dos Bois astonished with the show, some of them even stanted there for like half an hour straight, seeing us all have fun.The setlist wasn't bad... They didn't play "No hope kids"- many people wanted this one to be sang. "To the dregs" was featured, "Wavves" too, in which Nathan crowdsurfed while playing his guitar at the same time!!!... "So Bored" was the last song: at the end there was a stage invasion. This is all recorded by João Almeida with my camera.You can see this below:

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Wave Machines started around 2007, in Liverpool. They've released this album since then, entitled "Wave if you're really there". Receiving good reviews, this work has got lots of great tracks to choose from, each of them, peculiar, but with Wave Machines' characteristics within it. They use synthesizers, samplers, drums, guitars, basses, vocals, blending them in their own way: the product is surely marvelous.The tracks are:

1. You say the Stupidest Things2.I go I go I go3. Keep the Lights on4. Punk Spirit5. The Greatest Escape We Ever Made6. Wave If You're Really There7. The Line8. I Joined a Union9. Carry me Back to My Home10. Dead Houses

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Yesterday I saw two good gigs: Epic Randomness' first gig (at Gala dos Maristas) and Os Passos Em Volta gig at Padaria do Povo.First I'll talk about Epic Randomness' show: they only played one song, which was a cover of "Paradise City" (Guns 'n Roses song, in case you didn't know). It went really well, since it was, basically, their first gig. They were also in front of a big crowd, around more or less 725 people. They behaved really well, I must say... Now it's time they give more shows and make some EP's or merch. While playing, the drummer, Abreu, made some remarkable efforts on improvisations to accompain the guitarrist when he was "showing off".These are some photographs I took from this event: photograph 1, photograph 2, photograph 3, photograph 4, photograph 5, photograph 6, photograph 7, photograph 8, photograph 9, photograph10 and photograph 11.

Next was Os Passos em Volta concert, held at Padaria do Povo, located at Campo de Ourique, in Lisbon, Portugal. It was one hell of a show, one of the best I've seen from this band. They played well, synchronized in their own way, with their distinct sound. I couldn't take any pictures, because I didn't have my camera's batteries loaded. At this gig, there was even a crowdsurf, which was funny and at the same time cool. There was also some mosh held along some songs. These photographs were taken by a friend of mine and are available on Os Passos em Volta's myspace:

Friday, December 18, 2009

Last year, Emma [the singer's real name] played at the same place, which is Galeria Zé dos Bois, in Lisbon, Portugal. This time, she seemed more confident, however always giving herself, emotionally. Slow, but intense, is the best definition you can obtain from seeing Scout Niblett's gigs.The setlist included various songs, including ones from her upcoming album, I think.She played the song "My Beloved".Below, I'll leave videos I recorded:

Here are the links to part 2, part 3 (the song "My Beloved") and part 4. I'll upload more as time passes by.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Geir Jenssen, the mind behind all of this celestial musical brilliance, hails from Norway. It's a fact that this country's landscapes have influenced him as an artist and sound producer. If you still didn't know his "Biosphere" project, you should: take this in count, this album was elected as a classic ambient album, consistently in the top 5 in surveys on the Hyperreal ambient mailing list.According to Wikipedia: "Biosphere's first truly ambient album, it has a theme of cold, of mountains and glaciers and running water. Sounds of howling wind and creaking wood, although infrequently employed, create a chilling soundscape interrupted by sonorous but quietly suspenseful music."His music is hauntingly beautiful to me.The songs featured in this album are:

"As the Sun Kissed the Horizon" – 1:47

"Poa Alpina" – 4:10

"Chukhung" – 7:34

"The Things I Tell You" – 6:28

"Times When I Know You'll Be Sad" – 3:44

"Hyperborea" – 5:45

"Kobresia" – 7:12

"Antennaria" – 5:05

"Uva-Ursi" – 3:00

"Sphere of No-Form" – 5:47

"Silene" – 7:54

My favourite ones are: "Poa Alpina", "Hyperborea", "Antennaria" and "Sphere of No-Form". However, this album is peculiar and each song whispers stories to one's mind. Creativity stimulation, is what this is.You can get the album here, if you want too... I strongly recommend this ambient album to any person who's willing for some "thought-stimulant"or just to relax.

AmericanCountry musicsinger-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. He has charted more than 70 hit singles across various music genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than 420 individual weeks in the United States alone. -Ever heard of Kenny Rogers !-Who?-Kenny Rogers from the Big Lebowsky OST ?-oh yeah, that guy !-"That guy "When one singer makes such an indelible mark, that's not mere luck or even simple talent. "I really, really love what I'm doing," Rogers says. "People survive longer if they love what they're doing. Because you just don't quit." This is a singer of who i always wanted to know and share more about. But i really didn´t know what to say about him, heard the song a few years ago at a friend´s place just to hear it again as one of the main theme songs of the movie "Big Lebowski " as you´ll read further in detail, well here it goes, check it out it really worths the time.

Well his career began in the mid-1950s, when he recorded with a doo-wop group called The Scholars who had some success with a single called "Poor Little Doggie". Rogers was not the lead singer of the group and after two more singles they disbanded when their leader went solo.

Now on his own, Kenneth Rogers (as he was billed then) followed the break up with his own single, a minor solo hit called "That Crazy Feeling" (1958). After sales slowed down, Rogers joined a jazz group called The Bobby Doyle Trio, who got a lot of work in clubs thanks to a reasonable fan following and also recorded for Columbia Records. The group disbanded in 1965, and a 1966 jazzy rock single Rogers recorded for Mercury Records, called "Here's That Rainy Day" failed. Rogers also worked as a producer, writer and session musician for other performers; including country artists Mickey Gilley and Eddy Arnold. In 1966 he joined the New Christy Minstrels as a singer and double bass player.

Feeling that the Minstrels were not offering the success they wanted, Rogers and fellow members Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho left the group. They formed The First Edition in 1967 (later renamed "Kenny Rogers and The First Edition"). They chalked up a string of hits on both the pop and country charts, including "Something's Burning", "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", "Reuben James" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." In his First Edition days, Rogers had something of a hippie image, with long brown hair, an earring, and pink sunglasses. Known affectionately in retrospect as "Hippie Kenny", Rogers had a much smoother vocal style than in his later career.

When the group split in 1976, Rogers launched his solo career. Rogers soon developed a more middle of the road sound, with a somewhat rough but tuneful voiced style that sold to both pop and country audiences; to date, he has charted more than 60 top 40 hit singles (including upwards of 25 #1's) and 50 of his albums have charted. His music has also been featured in top selling movie soundtracks, such as Convoy, Urban Cowboy and finally the spotlight started focusing on Rogers when the group got their first hit, "I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Within a year the band was called Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, and his distinctive voice led the group to both pop and country chart success with "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town," written by Mel Tillis. The double-genre success struck again with "Reuben James," and the group landed their own TV variety show. Though theoretically a country singer, Rogers dominated the pop charts, consistently finding songs with universal appeal. "I've never considered myself a great singer, but I am a great storyteller," Rogers told Billboard magazine, also noting that he feels his strength as an artist is in finding great songs. In the 1980s he came to embody the role of the sensitive male, singing such romantic hits as "Through The Years," "She Believes In Me," "You Decorated My Life," and "Lady," the biggest song of his career. Those songs are classics today, sung at countless weddings, and even engraved on tombstones.

"I've always been like a boomerang." Rogers says. "You can throw me away, but you can rest assured that I'm coming back. It's not necessarily about success for me. It's not about being the biggest star in the world. I think for all intents and purposes, if you go back to the peak of my career, I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. To do that again doesn't excite me. But to just be there and to be a force and have people care about what you're recording, that's the greatest gift you can have."discography:

onQ Music (1996, one solo album; onQ Music was created by the QVC Network to release exclusive albums for sale only on QVC. The first onQ release was Rogers' Vote for Love, a two-disc set that would later become available in standard retail stores.)

Dreamcatcher (1998, solo deal; Dreamcatcher was owned and run by Rogers and Jim Mazza for the purpose of releasing Rogers albums and certain reissues of Rogers' catalog. Other artists such as Marshall Dyllon and Randy Dorman were released on Dreamcatcher Records, also. The label closed in 2004)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Now it's 5th December's gigs turn to be reviewed here on the blog. The bands I got to see were, by the following order: Os Golpes, Beach House, Little Joy, Kap Bambino, DR Ramos (with the collaboration of Ramesh Srivastava - Voxtrot's singer) and Zé Pedro DJ.

The first concert, which was Os Golpes', I only got to hear around 3 of their songs, since afterwards I ran to the waiting line for Beach House's gig in Tivoli. Os Golpes' gig was in Cinema São Jorge Sala 1.However, from what I got to see, they did a fine performance, nothing that was that remarkable either. I'll leave below some videos of their performance (these weren't filmed by me, take that in count):

Beach House's concert was the kind of thing I expected from them: it was filled with their sweet nostalgic and psychedelic sounds, gently embracing the crowd along their songs. Nothing that would make it a memorable gig among this festival however. I filmed a lot of their songs and [I think] I uploaded all of my footage onto youtube. It was their first step on the portuguese soil. They are returning to Lisbon on 17th of March of 2010, to play on Lux (a local disco).Below is one of my films of their concert (it's part 2):

Then it was Little Joy's turn to appear on Tivoli's stage. I got to know that this band formed in 2006 on the portuguese festival Lisboa Soundz. Bands like You Should Go Ahead, Los Hermanos, She Wants Revenge, Isobel Campbell, Dirty Pretty Things and The Strokes played at this festival. It was due to this festival that Little Joy were born: Los Hermanos' singer, Rodrigo Amarante, met with Fabrizzio Moretti of The Strokes and then they decided to form Little Joy.Little Joy's gig was kind of soft, with a good environment among the crowd and the band. I didn't like it that much, since I'm not that fond of Little Joy's music, however, it was a good gig. We left a bit before it ended, to see Kap Bambino.Here is a video [I didn't film it]. When I upload Little Joy's videos, I'll post the links right away.

Kap Bambino was the last "real" concert, before the DJ set at Underground / Garagens do Marquês do Pombal. Noisy, as expected, full of energy: there was a nucleus of fans that continuously, all the time, jumped and moshed. I even had a chance to do some crowdsurf. Kap Bambino had a very good setlist with songs like "Kaos Killer", "Hey" and "New Breath" among many others (their themes included songs from their first records to "Blacklist").I couldn't film this gig since I was all the time jumping around and enjoying it, has everyone was. Take this is count: this band's gigs are always memorable.Like I said before, everyone was dancing around, but, still, I found 2 videos. There's one of them below. The other one can be viewed here.

Afterwards, people relaxed a bit, with some more soft music playing. I got a chance to take a picture with Caroline, from Kap Bambino too.Suddenly, an alarm sounded: it was DR Ramos' performance beggining. He included some themes ranging from Motörhead to Queens of the Stone Age, mainly mainstream things, compared to the whole festival's purpose. DR Ramos also works on radio RADAR and on Antena 3, I think. He invited Ramesh [Voxtrot's singer] to DJ a bit.Below is a video of Ramesh' on stage:

Finally, came Xutos e Pontapés' Zé Pedro, starring as a DJ. I'll upload a video I have of his performance. He wasn't bad, however he surelly fits more as a guitarrist / rocker than a DJ. He remixed some tunes like U2's "Elevation".

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Serotonin Sounds was elected "Blog of the Week" by Cotonete, a famous portuguese website that strongly promotes music in many ways.You can see the "Blog of the Week" section by clicking in this link.Later, this month, my blog will be on a poll entitled "Golden Blog", that features the blogs elected during the weeks of December.Once again, thank you Cotonete!...

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Last Friday and last saturday were incredible. I got to see great bands and meet some of the nicest people on earth due to "Super Bock em Stock", a portuguese festival that's held at Lisbon annually. It gives you the opportunity to choose the gigs you want to see, since they're all at places near each other, located in Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue, translating).Friday I got to see, by the following order: Wild Beasts, Wave Machines, Voxtrot and The Legendary Tigerman.Then, Saturday I got to see by the following order: Os Golpes, Beach House, Little Joy, Kap Bambino, DR. Ramos (along with Voxtrot's singer DJ'ing a bit) and Zé Pedro DJ.This topic is about Friday's gigs; later then, I'll speak about Saturday's.

First I'll speak about the 20 minutes of Wild Beasts' gig: it was nice, with some problems at the beggining, with the guitars, but later it went well. They gave a good show, for what I saw, and I learned that their music is better if you hear it some more times carefully.Below is part of the gig, which I filmed:

Next, I'll speak about Wave Machines: possibly, my second favourite gig of Super Bock em Stock, their concert was awesome. I loved how they played, initially with their awkward masks on and then playing their instruments like robots, literally. Their music is awesome, one of the best bands that came out of Liverpool this year, many music critics and melomaniacs admit. They played their predilect songs, like "Where's my Punk Spirit?". When the show ended, me and my friend got the opportunity to speak with Carl Brown, the singer. He told us that he was surprised the band got this chance, to play here in Lisbon. I'm not that astonished, since this year their popularity has considerably risen!Below is part of the gig, which I filmed:

Next, me and my friend ran to Cinema São Jorge, to see Voxtrot. We got some fine seats in the front. Voxtrot appeared and the crowd clapped for some minutes straight. The band seemed always really fond with the portuguese crowd and remembered us that they haven't taken a step in our soil since 3 years ago and were sort of nostalgic about that. Ramesh, the singer, talked a lot and was really nice with the whole crowd. I appreciated when the band covered the song "This is the day" (The The's original song, in case you didn't know yet).Afterwards, I spoke a bit with Ramesh and took a photograph with him. He seems such a nice person, I'm glad he's making a radio programa at the portuguese radio station, RADAR.Some photographs of this gig can be found by clicking the following links: picture 1, picture 2, picture 3 and picture 4.

Further, when Voxtrot's concert ended, I walked the road, vectorizing myself to Tivoli. I saw part of Legendary Tiger Man's show, which was fun and typical of Paulo Furtado's work as a musician. I've heard he broke his guitar, "like a true rockstar". His music mixes blues with rock and has contageous lyrics. The gig lasted more 20 minutes, as I only got to see the last 3 songs before he left the stage.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Yesterday I made an interview through myspace with Floating Colors. Their music seems to me intense and chaotic but still really appealing. I won't speak much about them, because all of this interview has got enough info to satisfy most of you:Most of the interview, it was the band member Stephen Palke answering the questions.The interview went like this:

1. How and when did the band form?Floating Colors came out of the ashes of a now defunct band whose name I choose not to mention. This defunct band started out as a two-piece with me and a guy whose name I choose not to mention, we improvised ambient soundscapes with keyboards and guitar. Eventually, Chase, joined this defunct band as a drummer. We had a couple of good shows and good moments together. We played with some really cool acts like The Crypts, Head Molt, Religious Girls, and Leo Heinzel, who now goes by Flesh Control nowadays. Unforunately, general fuckery transpired, and my musical partner in this defunct band, and I went our seperate ways, and so the band broke up in early July of 09. Shortly after, Chase invited me to spend time with him and his wonderful family, at his late grandfather's farm not too far from Ocean City, Maryland. Chase and I spent two weeks there, watching good films, helping out at the farm, shooting targets, drinking shots of whiskey at night, going to the beach. We talked alot. We walked alot. We found that we really respected and trusted one another, and related to one another in a special way. Our friendship became really strong. This was the musical partnership that was suppose to happen. We were both excited about starting something new, with no baggage from the past. Eventually, we both settled on the name Floating Colors. We liked Floating Colors, because it didn't pin us to any genre, and that it would be more or less true to whatever evolution we undergo as a band in the future. Chris Vincent and Alex Forck joined our band soon after. It's been really good.

3. Do you prefer to produce music or to play live?Playing live is the headspace we're more into. We improvise every show, so playing live is the focus rather than making recordings.

4. In the future, will your music change or will you keep an uniform direction in your evolution?In a year or in a month, I could never say. Who knows how things could change.

5. What instruments do you use to create your music?I play on a microkorg, some guitar, and found sounds. Chase plays on a Premier drum set. Chris plays on guitar. and Alex plays on bass guitar.

6. If your music could have an environment, what would it be like?A really rough dive bar or a cathedral.

I have here some live recordings, courtesy of the band. Clickhere, to obtain them (it has around 70 megabytes - but is sure worth it!).If you're more curious about Floating Colors, visit their myspace.If you're more interest now in this band, send 6 dollars North America or 10 dollars via paypal to stephen_palke@yahoo.com to purchase albums, or for digital copies, go to floatingcolors.bandcamp.com.

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